10 Times WWE Turned Trash Into Treasure (... And YOU Didn't Notice!)
9. Strike Force Blows The Can-Am Connection Out Of The Water
For the World Wrestling Federation, they had quite the conundrum on their hands back in 1987. After being pushed as a rising babyface tag team with championship gold seemingly in their future, the Can-Am Connection pairing of Rick Martel and Tom Zenk was abruptly disbanded when Zenk quit the company.
With the Connection in the middle of a rivalry with the Islanders, WWF was forced to think on their feet. The result, was the very real departure of Zenk was worked into this feud, with Haku and Tama claiming the Z-Man had quite the company because he was so scared of them.
From there, a two-on-one beatdown from the Islanders on Rick Martel led to Tito Santana - who was on Spanish commentary duties at the time - making the save, and thus Strike Force was formed.
Where the "didn't notice" element of all of this is concerned, is in how WWF's handling of this situation made people immediately forget about Tom Zenk and the Can-Am Connection. And while the Connection was an over act, it was nowhere near as over as the pairing of Martel and Santana - as reflected by Strike Force getting an impressive near-two-year run together, a 152-day reign as Tag Team Champions, and then becoming embroiled in a heated rivalry when Martel turned on Tito in early 1989.